Author of the Queen City Boys books

Giving

If you can’t decide where to donate for the victims of the earthquake tragedy in Haiti I suggest Doctors without Borders or Yéle, though there is a good and much longer list here (both in the post and in the comments as well). I like to believe we can all choose to forgo coffee and non necessities for a week in hopes it will save a life. In this instance giving even a little helps a lot.

Also I got this list from my friend, Pun, of places you can “text” donations to.

If you’re in the U.S.:

* Text the word “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 on behalf of the Yéle Foundation.
* Text the word “Haiti” to 85944 to donate $5 on behalf of the Rescue Union Mission and MedCorp International.
* Text the word “Haiti” to 25383 to donate $5 on behalf of the Internal Rescue Committee.
* Text the word “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 on behalf of the Red Cross in the U.S.

And for Canadians:

* Text the word “Haiti” to 45678 (in Canada only) on behalf of the Salvation Army in Canada.

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On a personal note, I don’t know why tragedies like this always affect me so much, but they really do. I’ve been crying on and off all day. I am compulsively reading the news, though every photo of the wreckage sends me back into tears. It just feels close to home, I guess. Not exactly in proximity but more in a “it could happen to you” kind of way.